1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to child seats and carriers, specifically child safety seats which can be used as strollers, car seats, backpack carriers, child bicycle seats, and swings.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is important to safely secure children during transportation in order to prevent injury. Child seats and child carrying devices are often used to safely secure and transport children. Various forms of safety seats, child carrying devices, child transporting devices, and child restraining devices have been developed to protect children during transportation and to provide a safe and convenient way for transporting children in a car, on plane, on a bicycle, and while walking and/or hiking.
Many child seats and child carrying devices are multi-functional and function both as a child car seat as well as a child carrying device for transportation of a child when not in a car. Further, many child seats and child carrying devices often have removable parts and/or are collapsible for transformation into another child seat and/or carrying device.
For example, wheels and handles are often attached to child vehicle safety restraint devices for use as a stroller. Likewise, child vehicle safety restraint devices are often mounted on carriages for use as a stroller. Additionally, child seats and child carrying devices often function as backpack carrier. For example, many child seats and child carrying devices often have shoulder straps for carrying child seats and child carrying devices as a backpack carriers. More, many child seats and child carrying devices have compressible and/or extendable parts for transformation from one child carrying device to another, such as from a stroller to a backpack carrier.
However, there is a trade-off between structural rigidity and stability of a child seat and/or carrying device when it is used for one function and the weight of the device when it is used for another function. Furthermore, many child seats and/or child carrying devices do not have an all-in-one functionality, and may only be used for one or two of the above mentioned functions. Also, many child seats and/or child carrying devices have removable parts which may become lost and/or damaged when removed.
Some improvements have been made in the field. Examples include but are not limited to the references described below, which references are incorporated by reference herein:
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0173997, by Voll, discloses an improved combination stroller, car seat, and carrier for infants comprising a pair of wheels and a handle mounted on a pair of collapsible tubular members mounted through a pair of spaced-apart openings in the outward extending lip rimming the uppermost portion of the back of the seat and anchored to a single axle secured to the rear underside portion of the seat. When the pair of collapsible tubular members are collapsed for use as a car seat for infants inside the motor vehicle, the handle and pair of collapsible tubular members are disposed in a stowed position against the seat back portion of the car seat. The bottom portion of the combination is adapted for disposition in lockable securement either directly to the seat belt safety system of a motor vehicle, such as a car or automobile, or the like, or via an interlocking tray mounted on a seating surface inside the motor vehicle and secured to the body or frame of the motor vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,569,865, issued to Nothacker, discloses a child's safety seat including a trough like shell with an upholstered interior and a safety padding spanning the width of the shell to be struck by the head of a child if he falls forward; fastening means on the base of the shell permit attachment to carrying straps and belts, transport wheels, sled runners and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,478, issued to Noonan, discloses a convertible baby carrier having a clamshell figuration in which a first body portion and a second body portion are pivotally attached to each other, and includes apparatus for adjusting and fixing the angular relationship of the two body portions. The carrier includes detachable legs that are pivotally mounted to the body portions, and the apparatus is provided for fixing the angular positions of the legs relative to the body portions. The carrier can be converted to a seat, a stroller, a bed, a backpack, or the like by altering the angular relationships of the body portions and of the legs relative to the body portions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,146, issued to Lewis et al., discloses a child infant stroller is provided which is convertible from an operative stroller position to a folded position adapted to be received by and secured on a conventional bicycle infant carrier. The stroller generally comprises a child or infant seat and a frame member supporting the infant seat. The frame member includes two pair of legs, on of which, preferably a front pair, is adapted to rotate and releasably engage with an upper portion of the frame member. The stroller can then be placed on the bicycle infant carrier and be secured by a belt included with the conventional bicycle infant carrier. A removable attachment may also be included which attaches the two pairs of legs together when the stroller is in its operative stroller position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,401, issued to Severson et al., discloses a child carrier usable as a backpack and as a stroller. The carrier includes a frame having an upper and lower ends in a lengthwise axis extending between the ends. Front wheels are support by the lower end of the frame, and a child seat and backpack straps are connectable to the frame. Rear wheels are connected to the frame via a rear support assembly that includes sliders movable along the longitudinal axis of the frame, first members pivotally connected to the sliders, and second members pivotally connected to the first members and to the frame. The rear support assembly is movable to a first position in which the rear wheels are adjacent to the frame, for permitting use of the carrier as a backpack, and to a second position in which the rear wheels are positioned away from the frame, for use of the carrier as a stroller. The carrier further includes a handle pivotable between a collapsed position in which the handle is adjacent to the frame and an extended position in which the handle extends away from the frame. Movement of the handle and rear support assembly may be linked, to facilitate conversion of the carrier to the stroller configuration, and to provide a recliner configuration in which the carrier is supportable by the rear wheels and handle.
The inventions heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages, which include: not being universal; being incomplete; being inconvenient; not being adaptable; being expensive; being difficult to use; being complicated; not being compact; and/or being impractical.
What is needed is a combination child carrier that solves one or more of the problems described herein and/or one or more problems that may come to the attention of one skilled in the art upon becoming familiar with this specification.